Thursday Thirteen

Today I'm sharing images of my most surprising garden success, the Amorphophallus conjac (thank you for the correction to "conjac", Lucius Antony, from the incorrect "titanum"!). This so-called "corpse flower" actually bloomed this year! It's the third time since being introduced out of a little pot as an interesting but mysterious foliage specimen. The garden center owner didn't seem to know that he sold me a renowned food source from Asia. It's the tubers that are edible, though I do believe I'll pass on trying to eat mine.

Before I could even photograph the nub of a flower shoot protruding from the soil, this ubiquitous shape formed. I'll let the first few pictures speak for themselves.













After many days of stinky glory, the beautiful cloacking spathe shrivelled and the spadex at its center collapsed. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.



This isn't the best focus, but it sure reminds me of Jar Jar Binks from "Star Wars".



It lingered, getting uglier and uglier.



Then, the joy of rebirth brought these darling little shoots.



This mottled stem is what drew my eye at the garden center. That guy called it a "snake plant"!



This shows off the tropical leaves of an individual stalk.



Here you can see the resulting miniature jungle. Now, it's chest high and still spreading!